Botox, or botulinum toxin, offers a new, non-surgical option for improving the upper extremity function of children with
cerebral palsy (CP), report researchers from
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. L. Andrew Koman, M.D., orthopedic surgeon at
Brenner Children’s Hospital, and his team recently completed a study using Botox to treat muscle spasticity of the arm and hand in children with CP. In 1998, Koman and his team were the first worldwide to use Botox to treat muscle spasticity in CP patients.
Koman injected 73 cerebral palsy patients with either Botox or a placebo to see if Botox injections would help the muscles in a patient’s upper extremities relax, allowing them to grasp objects, play sports or do many daily functions they were previously unable to do. The Botox group showed three times the improvement in functional ability as compared to the group who received the placebo. He presented his results at the American Academy of Pediatrics’ annual meeting in San Francisco on Saturday.
“Of the 500,000 people affected with CP in the United States, more than half have upper extremity impairments,” Koman said. “Less than 20 percent of those can be helped with surgery. This non-surgical intervention is the one way to improve functional outcomes for these patients, decrease pain and facilitate care.”
Koman and his team have been studying the effects of Botox on CP patients since 1988.
CP is caused by an injury to the developing central nervous system during or shortly after birth. The disease causes the brain to send abnormal messages to muscles in the arms and legs, causing them to stiffen and contract (muscle spasticity). Patients with CP often have difficulty dressing themselves, brushing their teeth or eating with utensils. By injecting the muscles with Botox, the muscles relax and improve a patient’s ability to perform some of their daily activities.
“This is a huge help not only to the patient but to the caregiver, who may have trouble dressing the patient or getting the child into a car seat,” Koman said.